[mjburgess]

I think this is true, but i imagine there's a workflow solution to this which isnt to drop AI.

Eg., treating AI code generated as immediately legacy, with tight encapsulation boundaries, well-defined interfaces etc. And integrating in a more manual workflow.

There's a range from single-shot prompts to inline code generation, that will make more sense depending on the problem and where in the code base it is.

Single-shot stuff is going to make more sense for a protyping phase with extensive spec iteration. Once that prototype is in place, you then prob want to drop down into per-module/per-file generation, and be more systematic -- always maintaining a reasonably good mental model at this layer.

[herrherrmann]

That workflow just sounds exhausting to me. Would I always need to consider how much of a blast radius my AI-generated code might have? Sounds like there’s so much extra management going into these micro decisions that it ultimately defeats the purpose of generating code altogether.

I could see value in using it during the prototyping phase, but wouldn’t like to work like you described for a serious project for end users.

[meetingthrower]

And you have discovered the job of managers! There has always been a lot of hate for managers. Wonder if the robots hate us just as much? (I often feel a weird guilt when I tell an agent to do something I know I am going to throw away but will serve as an interesting exploration...I know if I did that to a human they would be pissed...)

[nixon_why69]

IMO the hate has always been for clueless managers, especially clueless yet demanding managers. Managing an LLM for coding is different, try being clueless and demanding and see how far you get.

[meetingthrower]

So you think "good" management translates? I actually think it very much does. Clear expectations, providing right context and "the why", quick and clear feedback loops, intervening early when they are going off track, not micromanaging too much so they can actually accomplish more. It's all very similar.

[nixon_why69]

Yes it very much does but managing humans is still very different.

Understanding your domain, setting clear expectations and understanding limitations and how much ambiguity your people/robots can handle are all good management techniques, they translate.

But the nature of working with an always-on flattery machine vs humans that can exceed your expectations while also being sources of infinite drama and frustration are still fundamentally different. The blind spot is being subsceptible to the flattery machine and forgetting how much you relied on good people challenging you. The benefit is, of course, not having to deal with humans.

[abandonliberty]

In addition, a good human knows when to ask for help or feedback. Our AIs are always just as confident whether their output is brilliant or terrible.

That's more or less the opposite of what I'd want.

[amenghra]

> I know if I did that to a human they would be pissed

You call it a hackathon. You tell the human to stay up the whole night. In exchange for the extra hours worked you provide some pizza.

[embedding-shape]

I just don't like to type code anymore. If I can accomplish the same by describing the code, and get the same results as if I typed it myself, I'll opt for not typing so damn much. I've done so much typing in my career, that typing ~80% less to get the same results, makes a pretty big difference in how likely I am to set out to accomplish something.

I care more about code quality now, because typing no longer limits if I feel like it's worth to refactor something or not.

[simonkagedal]

Same. Meanwhile, I _read_ more code than I ever have.

[anal_reactor]

> treating AI code generated as immediately legacy, with tight encapsulation boundaries, well-defined interfaces etc.

This is good advice regardless whether you're using AI or not, yet in real life "let's have well-defined boundaries and interfaces" always loses against "let's keep having meetings for years and then ducttape whatever works once the situation gets urgent".

[timacles]

This is like getting a person addicted to drugs and then asking them to only use the drugs on Thursday and Friday.

This seems to me like it requires an impossible level of discipline, judgement and foresight